Safety lock for automobile doors and the like



June 13, 1939. .1. SHOBEL E! AL SAFETY LOCK FOR AUTOMOBILE DOORS AND THELIKE Filed Nov. 8, 1937- 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 8 W ATTORNEY- June13, 1939. SHOBEL Er AL 2,162,567

SAFETY LOCK FOR AUTOMOBILE DOORS AND THE LIKE Filed Nov. 8, 1957 2Sheets-Sheet 2 9.; I I I 4?) 12 a 69 F 5 F 15 J g/J ATTORNEYS PatentedJune 13, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT orrics SAFETY LOOK FOR AUTOMOBILEDOORS AND THE LIKE John Shobel and Anna J. Shobel, Cleveland, OhioApplication November 8, 1937, Serial No. 173,462

11 Claims.

Our invention relates to safety locks for automobile doors and the like.

The general object of the invention is to provide improved door lockingmeans for maintaining the doors of an automobile locked at all timesexcept when the operator either purposely or unintentionally leaves theignition key in the vehicle and in which case only the door throughwhich exit is made will remain unlocked.

A further object of the invention is the provision of novel means forlocking and unlocking an automobile door or doors.

A still further object of the invention is to provide novel means formaintaining one or more doors in locked position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be readilyunderstoodas the descriptionis considered in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view showing the lock in unlocked position, and theignitionswitch with the electrical circuits in diagram;

Figure 8 is aside elevation of the supporting and locking armaturelever;

Figure 9 is a plan view of part of the ignition switch removed from itshousing;

Figure 10 is a side elevation of Figure 9; Figure 11 is an end elevationof Figure 10; Figure 12 is a plan view of the rotary contact member ofthe ignition switch;

Figure 13 is a side elevation of the rotary contact member;

Figure 14 is a. perspective view of the rotating contact actuatingmember; and

Figure 15 is a side view of the pawl trippin armature lever.

Heretofore there has been considerable objection to certain types oflocks used on automobile doors due to the fact that the operatorfrequently locked himself out when the automobile keys wereinadvertently left in the car. Furthermore, no provision was made inmany of these prior.

types of locks, or only inadequate provision was made to guard againstunauthorized entrance to the car while the operator was in the car.According to the present invention, it is impossible for the operator toaccidentiy lock the door handle 6 and therefore lock himself out afterhe has turned oil the ignition, but neglects to remove the ignitionswitch key, because under these conditions the closing of the door afterhaving been opened from the inside, in the usual manner, by the 10operator, does not result in the door handle becoming locked.Consequently the operator can reenter the door through which he made hisexit, without using the door key. Furthermore, the operator can relockthe door when in the car by 5 merely turning the ignition key toignition position, thus making it impossible for a person to open thedoor by means of the outer door handle.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings I denotes a mechanicallyand electrically operated lock for the doors of automobiles and othervehicles. only the right front door 2 and the lack therefor being shown.However it will be understood that the'same lock is adapted for use onboth front doors and both rear doors, accord- 2:; ing to the number ofdoors with which the vehicle is provided. Hinges 3 for connecting thedoor 2 to the door frame 4 are shown in dotted lines in Figure 1. Themechanical elements of the lock l are mounted in a conventional box orhousing, 80 only one panel 5 of which is shown. This panel is secured onthe inside of the door, bolt holes 6 being provided for this purpose andthe forward edge I of the panel being substantially flush with the freeside edges of the door.

A latch bolt 8 is slidably mounted in guides 9 on the inside of thepanel 5. When the bolt is projected through an opening II in the edge Iof the housing, it will engage the customary keeper in the door jamb,not shown. The latch 40 bolt has the customary beveled end or nose illfor automatically latching the door, and is normally spring pressedoutwardly by a suitable spring I2, into latching position. The bolt ismanually movable to latched and unlatched positions by 5 means of anouter door handle H, the round shank of which is rotatably mounted inhousing 5. Fixed to the squared end l3 of the shank is a dog l4 having ashoulder l5 engaging a lug i 6, on

the latch bolt, for moving the bolt from projected or latched positionto withdrawn or unlatched position, when the handle 'H and dog I4 areturned in a clockwise direction to open the door. The same operation isaccomplished from within the vehicle at a point usually underneath thedoor window, by means of an inner door handle H' connected to one end ofa link or arm II, the other end of which is connected to the inner endof latch bolt 8, the bolt being free to be ,moved by handle Hindependently of the arm ll, by virtue of the slot and headed boltconnecting parts i8 and 28 respectively. The latch bolt actuating dog i4is formed with a second shoulder 2i for apurpose presently described.

A handle locking pawl 22, weighted at one end as at 23 and providedwith. a lug 24 at the other end is pivoted to casing panel 5 as at 25.The shoulder 2i on dog i4 is normally engaged by or interlocked with ashoulder 28 on pawl 22 for locking the outside handle" H' againstturning movement. The handle H contains a conven-'- tional rotary barrelor tumbler cylinder lock 21. To gain access to the car the owner insertsthe key 28 in the barrel or cylinder lock 21 and turns the key andcylinder in a clockwise direction. A

shaft 28 having a cam shaped end 38, rotates with the key and cylinderand engages a plunger 3i slidably mounted in the handle, and forces thesame downwardly into contact with the lug 24 on pawl 22 and rocks thelatter in an anti-clockwise direction, thus freeing the shoulder 26 onpawl 22 from the shoulder 2| on dog N. The handle H is now free to beturned clockwise for the purpose of moving the latch bolt to unlatchedposition, the extent of this movement being limited by a stop 32 in thepath of travel of lug l8.

Having first unlocked the handle with the key 28 and then unlatched thebolt by turning the handle H the operator can open the door and enterthe car. However before entering the car the key 28 must be rotatedanti-clockwise to its original position before it can be withdrawn.

. This movement of the key lifts the plunger 3| to Figure 1 position, inwhich position the handle H remains locked until the key 28 is againination by induction coils A and B respectively.

sorted in the lock and turned in a clockwise direction. It should benoted here that the closing of the door and incidental reciprocation ofthe latch bolt has no effect upon the handle locking pawl 22, exceptwhen automatic tripping mechanism 33, controlled from an ignition switch34, is electrically brought into play. By virtue of this automatictripping mechanism it is impossible for the operator in leaving the carto lock himself out if he should turn off the ignition but forget to.remove the key 28' from the switch before or after opening the doorfrom the inside, by means of inner handle H, as will be hereinafterdescribed. It also permits the operator to lock the door by merelyswitching the ignition on.

The tripping mechanism comprises a pawl tripping lever 35 and a pawlsupporting and locking lever 38, pivotally mounted on panel 5, by meansof pivots or studs 31 and 38 respectively, for actu- One end 39 ofunlocking or tripping lever 35 is weighted so that this end normallytends to drop by gravity and rock the lever in a counter-clockwisedirection. Likewise one end 48 of lever 36 being weighted, or heavierthan the other end thereof has a tendency to move downwardly by gravityand causes the lever 38 to rotate in a clockwise direction. Springs 4iand 42 cooperate with the weighted arms or ends of the respective levers35 and 38 to increase their tendency to rotate in an anti-clockwise anda clockwise direction respectively. Spring 42 also performs ing of! theignition, makes his exit, through door 2 but has neglected to remove theignition key v 28', the opening of the door results in the pawls- 22being moved to Figure l or inoperative position where it remains, duringsubsequent opening and closing movements. Thus the bolt 8 is providedwith a grounded tungsten contact point 44 adapted to engage a springcontact arm 45, in the electric circuit for switch 34, when the bolt ismoved-to unlatched position. A line 46 leads from contact pint 45 to oneside of coil B and a line 41 from the switch 34 connects through a line51 to the other side of coil B, however the circuit to coil B is notcompleted except when the spring contact arm 49 of the switch is forcedinto engagement with the fixed arm 50, by the key 28', whereupon currentfrom the battery 5! will flow through line 52, to fixed arm 50 andthence through resilient arm 49 to lead 41. The lighter end 53 of lever35 will'then be electrically drawn into contact with coil B thus causingthe locking pawl 22 to be kicked or rotated out of engagement with thedog i4. The lighter end 35' of locking lever 36 is formed with upper andlower notches 54 and 55 in which a shoulder 56 on the weighted end oflever 35 seats during the unlocking and locked positions respectively ofthe outside door handle H. As the shoulder 56 rides out of notch 55 itwill automatically seat in notch 54 where it will be held until lever 36is moved in an anti-clockwise direction. Consequently the door 2 throughwhich the operator made his exit will remain unlocked because theclosing of the door will have no effect on the locking lever 35 or pawl22.

When the operator returns to the car and turns the key previously leftin the switch to on or ignition position, during the ordinary operationsincident to starting the car, the door 2 (handle H) will become lockedautomatically. However, should he wish to lock the door without movingthe car, it will be merely necessary to turn the key first to on andthen back to off position.

It will be understood that the key 28 is primarily an unlocking key onlyand that the operator need not and cannot lock the outside door handle Hin the usual way, with this key at any time or under any circumstances.In removing the key from the switch the door remains locked. He can onlylook the handle and thus lock the door against being opened from theoutside by turning on the ignition switch 34, by means of the key 28',the latter being adapted for this purpose as well .as for unlocking thehandle. When the key 28 is used to unlock the door from the outside itmust be turned back to original position before it canbe withdrawn fromthe cylinder look. This action returns plunger 3i to its original orFigure 4 position and in that sense only is the key used to lock theouter door handle. In other words the keys 28 and 28' are identical. Theswitch 34 preferably mounted in the instrument board, is conventionalinsofar as the ignition system is concerned, but additional contacts andterminals are added for proper actuation of the automatic trippingmechanism 33, when the ignition is "off".

The switch 34 comprises a fiber disk 59 to which the resilient and fixedcontact arms 49 and 50 are respectively connected. These arms passthrough notches in the periphery of the disk and are suitably bent forattachment respectively to or for electrical contact with theirrespective terminal posts 60 and 6|, on the rear face of the disk. Thereis also a third post 62, on this side of the ,disk, which is connectedto one side of coil A by lines and 50. Three round spaced electricalcontacts 60', 6i and 62' respectively integrally formed on the posts 60,Hand 62 project forwardly through the fiber disk 59 for make and breakcontact with arotating substantially disk shaped contact member I00, thesole function of the latter being to make and break the electricalconnection between contacts GI" and 62 in the ignition circuit, when themember I00 is turned through the medium of a bifurcated member 64 to onor ignition position. There is also a fourth dead contact 63 opposed tocontact 60', which serves as a latching guide to steady or hold thecontact member I00 in on and oil positions. Contacts 6| and 62' areequal in heighth and somewhat higher than contacts 60' and 63'. Thismember 64 is formed 7 with a rearwardly projecting rectangular stemportion 65 which extends, snugly through an ,opening 66 of correspondingsize and shape, formed in the member I00 and thence loosely into acentrally disposed guide opening in the fixed fiber disk 59. Theforwardly extending bifurcations 61 of member 64 seat in spring sockets68 projecting rearwardly from a rotating fiber disk 69, in turn formedwith a narrow key slot IOI through which the key 28 extends. When thelatter is turned from on to off position the disk 69 and rotatingcontact member I00 will be correspondingly turned. In this connection itwill be noted that the periphery of the member I00 is crimped or bent toprovide four spaced substantially V,-shaped cam pockets or recesses I0,'II, I2 and I3 which will appropriately receive or register with thecontacts 60', H, 62'

and 63 when the switch key 28' is turned to and from on and oil ignitionpositions, such movementsvbeing possible due to the cam action of thecontact member I00 in riding over the contacts and resiliently forcingthe bifurcated member 64 outwardly against the tension of coil springsI02, in spring sockets 6 Pocket II is much deeper than the other pocketsand consequently will never actually touch a contact member.

When the key 28' is in off position the cam pockets 10, II, I2 and I3respectively will register with contacts 60', 6|, 62' and 63 but thecircuit to coil A will not be completed because the walls of pocket 'IIare out of electrical contact with contact 6|. However due to the key'being in the switch, current will fiow to coil B in the mannerpreviously described, when the bolt 8 is moved to unlatched position andthe circuit is closed by contact 44 on the bolt engaging with contact45, as previously explained, and lever 35 will be drawn to pawlunlocking position by coil B. In this position' arm 53 of lever 35contacts with a spring contact arm II attached to a terminal post I5,which is in turn connected to one side of coil A by a line I6. The postI5 as well as a terminal post 11 on which the spring contact arm 45 ismounted are carried by an insulated fiber plate 16, on housing panel 5,which panel also supports the coils A and B. A terminal post 19 for line51, previously mentioned, as leading hinged edge of door 2, are likewisemounted on fiber panel 13. Post 00 is connected by a wire I01 to thehousing 5 which is connected to the metal door and the door 2 isgrounded through the hinges 3 to body frame I whereby the terminal 60 isgrounded. 7 These leads 62, 63 and 84 make constant electrical contactwith spring contact members 82', 03' and 83' in the frame, 4,

when the door 2 is closed. A second fiber plate I05 is arranged beneaththe fiber plate I8, previously described and the wires or leads 46 and51 and I6 and 50 to coils B and A respectively are positioned betweenthese fiber plates.

In the off position of the ignition switch, the live contact points 6!and 62' are not bridged. The pockets II and I2 are in register withcontacts 6| and 62' and the pockets I0 and I3 in register with lowcontacts H and 63 respectively,

but pocket 'II because of its depth'does not comignitionposition theshallow pockets I0 and I3 will be brought into register and alsoelectrical contact with high contacts 6I and 62' thus completing thecircuit to coil A. In this position the flow of current is from thepositive side of battery 5|, through line 52 to post 6|, across the post62 and thence through line 46 to flexible connector 84 and post Ill andfinally to coil A through line 58. Coil A is thus energized and the end40 of lever arm 36 is drawn into contact with the coil. As lever 36,which is supporting pawl 22 through lever 35, moves in an anti-clockwisedirection, notch 54 is moved out of engagement with the shoulder 56 onlever 35, the latter drops into'notch 55 and the pawl 22 swingsclockwise by gravity bringing .its shoulder 26 into locking engagementwith the shoulder 2| on handle locking dog I4, whereupon the handle Hbecomes locked. Movement of key 28' back to off position does notdisturb the position of locking levers and consequently the door canonly be openedby manipulation of the latch bolt, by means of handle H,from the inside of the car. It might also be noted here that a line I06runs from post 62 to the 'gnition coil, not shown. Spring 42 holds thelevers 35 and 36 resiliently in locking engagement with each other andeffectually prevents them from jarring loose under vibrational stressesor jolts.

It will be understood that a cylinder lock is necessary only in onedoor, preferably the right hand door 2, which is most used as a point ofentrance by the operator, all others will have the 7 and'the electricalconnections to and from the battery 5|, coils A and B and switch 34 willbe duplicated for each door.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the automobile will alwaysbelocked when parked thereby reducing the theft hazard to a minimum;that the doors are always looked while the car is in motion and willremain locked even after the ignition switch has been turned to oi?position; that the doors may be purposely left unlocked by leaving theignition key in the switch; that no mechanical efiort on the part of theoperator is required to lock the doors as the pawl 22 always locks thedog I4 except when momenta ly disengaged by the action of coil 3 and tat the door cylinder lock is only used to unlock the one door 2. Alsothat when the key is left in the ignition switch all doors will remainlocked with the exception of that door through which the operator makeshis exit.

The mechanical parts of the lock, without the electrically actuatedparts, function to keep the door handle locked at all times andtherefore if preferred, could be used in'the rear doors of 4 door cars.On the other hand the electrical mechanism is actuated only at suchtimes as the ignition key is left in the ignition switch andconsequently is brought in play only as a safety measure, that is, whenthe car owner fails to adhere to normal procedure.

Due to the fact that circuit to cull A is broken at 14 when this coilactuates lever 36 and the latter in turn releases the lever 35 to dropone notch, which movement or lever 35 by gravity is aided by the actionof spring 4|, and due to the fact that circuit to coil B is broken whencontact points 44 and 45 are separated, it will be seen that these coilsare only momentarily energized, and that in consequence little currentis used. Having thus described our invention, what we claim is: i 1. Adoor lock having a retractible lock bolt and an outside and an inside.operating handle, a lock pawl electrically actuated normally movable tooperative position to hold said outside handle against lock releasingmovements, said pawl adapted to be operated by key controlled meansoperative manually from the outer side or the lock to mechanicallyrender said pawl inoperative, or by said electrically actuated means, akey actuated electric switch, and means operative through said switchfrom the inner side of said lock when said key is inserted in saidswitch and said retractible lock bolt is actuated, for elec-- tricallymoving said pawl to inoperative position.

2. A door lock having a retractible lock bolt and an outside and aninside operating handle, movable means normally operative for lockingsaid outside handle against lock releasing movement, said movable meansnormally operated by a key controlled means operative manually from theouter side of the lock to mechanically move said movable means fromoperative to inoperative position, a key actuated electric switch, and ameans controlling the movable means and operative through said switchfrom the inside of said lock when said key is inserted in said switchand said retractible bolt is actuated, for electrically moving saidmovable means from operative to inoperative position.

3. A door lock having a retractible lock bolt associated with anignition switch and having an outside and an inside operating handle,pivotally mounted means normally operative for locking said outsidehandle against lock releasing movement, said pivotally mounted meansadapted to be operated by key controlled means operative manually fromthe outer side of the lock to mechanically move said movable means fromoperative to inoperative position, a key actuated electric switch, andmeans operative through said switch from the inside of said look whensaid key is inserted in the ignition switch and said retractible bolt isactuated, for electrically moving said pivotally mounted means fromoperative to inoperative position.

4. A door lock having a retractible lock bolt and an outside and aninside operating handle, a gravity actuated lock pawl normally set tohold said outside handle against lock releasing movements, said pawladapted to be operated by key controlled means operative manually 'fromthe outer side of the lock to mechanically move and tractible lock boltmovement, said pawl adapted to be operated by key controlled meansoperated manually from the outside to mechanically render said pawlinoperative and an electrically operated means adapted to render saidpawl inoperative when the ignition key is in the switch and the lockingbolt is thrown to open the door from the inside;

6. A door lock having a retractible lock bolt and an outside and insideoperating handle, an electrically actuated lock pawl normally movable tooperative position to hold said outside handle against lock releasingmovement, said pawl adapted to be operated by key controlled meansoperated manually from the outside to mechanically render said pawlinoperative or by an electrically actuated means, a key rotated switchcontrolling said electrically actuated pawl moving means when the key isinserted in the switch, whereby the door can not be locked when the keyis in the switch.

7. A door lock associated with an ignition switch and having aretractible lock bolt and an inside and outside operating handle, a pawlnormally movable to operative position to hold said outside handleagainst lock releasing movement, an electrically operated means forreleasing the pawl, and a key operated switch closed by the insertion ofthe key in the ignition switch and said electrically operated means setin operation by the bolt upon its movement by .the inside handle, saidpawl adapted to be operated from the outside by key operative means inthe outside handle.

8. A door lock associated with an ignition switch and having aretractible lock bolt and an inside and outside operating handle, a pawlnormally held to lock the outside handle against lock releasingmovement, and an electrically operated means for releasing the pawl, acircuit controlling said electrically operated means and having twonormally open switches one closed by the insertion of a key in theignition switch and the other closed by the lock bolt whereby theopening of the door when the key is in the switch operates the pawl andlooks it in inoperative position to allow the door to be operated fromthe outside without the key.

9. A door lock associated with an ignition switch and having aretractible lock bolt and an inside and outside operating handle, a pawlnormally held to lock the'outside handle against lock releasingmovement, and an electrically operated means for releasing the pawl, acircuit controlling said electrically operated means and having twonormally open switches oneclosed by the insertion of a key and theotherclosed by the lock bolt and a' second electrically operated meanscontrolled by the insertion of a key in the ignition switch forreleasing the first electrically operated means to .allow the pawl toresume its locking position, whereby the door is locked from the insideand the opening of the door when the key is in the switch operates thepawl and looks it in inoperative position to allow the door to beoperated from the outside by a key operat ing means in the outsidehandle.

10. A door lock associated with an ignition switch and having aretractible lock bolt and an inside and outside operating handle, meansnormally movable to operative position to hold said outside handleagainst lock releasing movement, an electrically operated means forreleasing the handle holding means and a switch controlling saidelectrically operated means and controlledby the insertion of,'the keyin the ignition switch and said outside handle holding means adaptedtobe operated from the outside by key operative i means in the outsidehandle.

11. A door lock associated with an ignition switch and having aretractible lock bolt and an outside operating handle, means normallymovable to operative position to hold the outside handle against lockreleasing movement, an electrically operated means for releasing thehandle holding means comprising a switch closed by the insertion of'akey in the ignition switch and a pair of contacts closed by theretraction of the bolt whereby the outside handle can not be locked whenthe key is in the ignition switch, said outside handle holding meansadapted to be operated from the outside by key operative means in theoutside handle.

JOHN SHOBEL. J ALFRED J. SHOBEL.

